Chapter 4
Claire
The inside of the cabin is dead silent, but the howling winds coming from outside grate at my ears. The lights flicker and zap. I squeeze my eyes shut and pray the storm stays outside. It’s a silly thought, I know. I’m safe inside, of course I am—let the wind scream all it wants. I’m pretty sure Silas Montgomery built his mistress a fortified stronghold to defend her from all of nature’s tantrums up here on this mountain. Hell, the open beams that cross the ceiling held her dead weight and heavy sins just fine.
God, my thoughts are too morbid.
I’m just angry and still in shock. I can’t believe—no, I don’t want to believe—the two of them were here together hiding from everyone. My tears aren’t from sadness, they’re straight up rage and bitterness. How could she have done this?Again?I clench my phone in my hands as it buzzes once more. Now she’s got me involved, and once again I’m going to get hurt because of her thoughtless actions. What was it about Silas Montgomery that made that woman so stupid? How could any man be worth giving up everything in your life for? It’s incomprehensible to me. It’s downright pathetic.
A sharp pounding bursts against the door. The suddenness of it jars me, bolting me off the couch. Adrenaline snaps in sparks across my chest. I back away, my calves hitting into the hard edge of the coffee table.
Maybe it’s Ms. Lowell and she couldn’t get her car out of here. But wouldn’t she have the keys to this place? So, it couldn’t be her clobbering at the door.
Maybe it’s the crazy person who’s trying to blackmail me.
I lurch forward and move toward the door, my heart thumping hard the whole way. If it’s the blackmailing text idiot, heor sheis going to be in for a real surprise when I let loose my crazy on him.
I rush past the fireplace and try to grab for the fire poker leaning against the stones, but the door explodes open and a gust of icy snow and wind stops me dead in my tracks. Standing in the middle of the open doorway, against the backdrop of a white-out blizzard, is none other than Vaughn Montgomery. I never make it to the fire poker—I’m like a wild animal caught in headlights. A gust of frigid air whips past him and rips goose bumps up my arms.
“What are you doing in my father’s cabin?” he growls.
Shit. I suck back in a hard breath and back away. He’s enormous. Flushed cheeks and clenched teeth. The tendons in his jaw tense and coil. His once-beautiful bright eyes narrow and give off a steely glint of pure hate. Fat flakes of snow melt and drip from his hair, streaming down his cheeks.
“Well?” he snaps. He kicks his leg back and slams the door shut behind him, cutting us off from the outside. Like a savage, he practically tears his coat down his arms, balls it up in his huge fists and throws it up against a wall.
Jesus, this is not the same sweet boy I knew years ago.Well, screw him. He doesn’t get to come in here while I’m dealing with cleaning out my dead mother’s stuff and yell at me. I fold my arms across my chest and give him a hard look. There is no way I’m going to let him talk to me like this.
He steps forward, narrowing his eyes into thin slits. “I asked you what—”
“Who are you?” I ask, harshly.
There’s a slight flinch back to my question, but he recovers quicker than I’d like him to. Because of course he does. Rich, white boys always get the upper hand. “I highly doubt you’d forget who you lost your virginity to, unless all us men just blur together for you Radcliffe women after a while.”
Heat flashes through my body and I swear my scalp feels like it’s tightening and crawling off my head at the same time. “Nope, you must have just been extremely forgettable, I suppose.” I sneak a peek at the window. How bad would going down a mountain in the snow with my car be right now? Probably not as dangerous as staying in here trying not to claw Vaughn Montgomery’s stupid smirk off. And that’s what he was doing, smirking at me. Smirking like he didn’t believe he was easily forgettable to lose my virginity to. It wasn’t, but it was useless even thinking about the issue.
I thought it hurt before, when I realized all those years ago that I’d never be able to see the Montgomerys again, but this is worse. Seeing him and hearing his voice, his harsh tone, it’s making my insides sore.Why does he hate me so much? I’m not the one that did anything wrong.
I could pretend I’m not me. I could just ignore the giant mammoth of a man snarling in the middle of the room and finish packing up my mother’s belongings and be finally done with the Montgomery family once and for all. I clear my throat and make my way over to the dining room table and the small box of my mother’s things. It always enraged him to be ignored.
I can feel his eyes on me, they heat my skin and make me wish I could step out of myself and just disappear. He’s glaring at me, trying to intimidate me, and there’s no way in hell that’s going to work for him. There was a time, long ago, when I would have cared about his feelings and his thoughts, but no more. I’m completely finished with anything that have to do with the Montgomerys. I hate my mother for this, and the thought of her—of hating her—makes tears prick at my eyes. I need to get out of here. I feel like I can’t breathe. God, why did she have to go and do this?
My phone buzzes in my fist and another flash of warmth rushes through my body. I slip the phone onto the table and a swirl of vertigo hits me. For a brief second, I had forgotten about the texts. I grab onto the edge of the table and fight the sudden urge to sit down. If I don’t stay here and find the paperwork I need, my career is over. Even if I email the headmaster of the school, my reputation is not getting out of this unharmed. How am I supposed to leave and find the offshore bank account information at the same time? A thousand scenarios flip through my mind, but I can’t see my way out of this. I can’t leave without what I came for, but I can’t stay much longer either. I don’t know what to do. If I could just find the accounts…
The bastard is still behind me, watching my every move.
“Turn around,” he rumbles.
I don’t. I start packing my mother’s stuff. A bunch of cotton shirts, all size medium. An apron withNo bitchin’ in my kitchenwritten across the front pocket. A pile of folders I flick through quickly, that are nothing more than recipes and bits and pieces of her life here. I slow down and focus on each item, trying to figure out why she chose this life over being with me.
“Claire.” His voice has lost its venomous tone.
Caught off guard by its softness, I peek back over my shoulder. Such a stupid thing to do. Something in his steel-gray eyes make me feel like the floor is falling away from my feet. My entire body lights up like I’m fifteen again. I turn my back to him quickly and throw the next object in the box. I think it’s a small statue of an elephant. I hear it crack when it hits against something else in the box and I almost lose it.
He takes a step closer to where I’m standing. My mouth goes dry. I feel too vulnerable. I’m rummaging through dead people’s things trying to find money that isn’t mine to give it away to someone I don’t know. Sweat breaks out across my forehead. Jesus, this makes me feel like a criminal somehow. I’d be horrible if I ever had to rob a bank. My head turns and my eyes flash up to his again. The way he’s watching me is unnerving, and something else fumbles out of my trembling hands.
This feels way too dangerous. What if he grew up to be a lunatic? What if he finds out I’m trying to get his father’s back account information and he chops me up into little pieces? Ten years ago, I would have said Vaughn would have never hurt a fly. But with the way he’s looking at me right now, my heart should be exploding in my chest and I should be dropping dead any second.
I want to explain that I’ll be out of his hair in just a few minutes—that I just need to go through the rest of my mom’s stuff to find some of her financial papers or something, but my mouth doesn’t seem to want to work. The truth is I don’t want to talk to him, I’m way too embarrassed by the whole situation. I want to pretend he’s not here and find what I need to get on with my life.
